2/8: Marlies This Week

The Marlies are set to drop the puck against Rochester, Toronto’s closest competition in the North Division (four points back of the Marlies), at the Ricoh (11 a.m. start). A good time for your weekly update from the Marlies:

“The Marlies dropped the Syracuse Crunch 5-2 on Friday night at the Oncenter. Simon Gysbersâ€™ goal early in the second period held up to be the game-winner. Philippe Dupuis notched three points, including his first goal of the season. Mike Zigomanis had a goal and a helper. Ryan Hamilton also had two assists, while Ben Scrivens made 37 saves on 39 shots. Marcel Mueller and Will Acton were the other two Marlie goal scorers.

Toronto scored three, third period goals to lift them over the Abbotsford Heat on Saturday evening. Matt Frattin scored twice in the win and was named the gameâ€™s first star. Marcel Mueller and Korbinian Holzer both chipped in with two assist games. The Marlies out-shot the Heat 32-18 in the game. Torontoâ€™s power play scored twice; while their second ranked penalty kill unit allowed one goal. Scrivens made 16 saves for his second straight victory.

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Notes:

– The Marlies are currently first in the North Division and third in the Western Conference with a record of 25-17-3-2 for 55 points. The Marlies wonâ€™t play on the road again until February 29 in Hamilton.

– Mike Zigomanis has notched 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) over his last 16 games. He has recorded a point in five of his past seven games. Zigomanis ranks ninth (tie) in the AHL in points and eighth (tie) in power play assists (15).

– Matt Frattin has recorded five goals over his past five games. In 14 games with the Marlies this season, he has registered eight goals and three assists.

– Ben Scrivens has won five of his past seven starts. During that stretch he has a 1.85 goals against average and 0.929 save percentage.

– Jerry Dâ€™Amigo and Joe Colborne are tied for the team lead with three game winning goals this season.

– The Marlies penalty killing unit ranks second overall in the AHL with an 86.4% success rate.

– The Marlies home power play ranks ninth in the AHL with a 19.7 success rate.

– Will Acton has recorded goals in back-to-back games for Toronto. In 42 games, Acton has collected 11 points (five goals, six assists) and a +8 rating.

– The Marlies are 18-0-0-0 when leading after 40 minutes.

– Kyle Neuber ranks first on the club with 109 penalty minutes.

-Toronto plays 10 straight home contests from February 4 to February 26.

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Upcoming Opponents:

The Marlies host the Rochester Americans today (Wednesday) at 11 a.m. . This is the sixth meeting between the two clubs. Toronto is 4-1-0-0 through the first five meetings. Marcus Foligno has 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) and ranks 12th (tie) in the AHL in rookie scoring. Rochester is 3-0-1-0 over their past four games.

Toronto welcomes the San Antonio Rampage on Friday night. The Rampage sits fourth in the West division with a record of 24-20-2-0 and has won seven of their past 10 games. Jon Mastsumoto ranks eighth in the league with 43 points (17 goals, 26 assists). Dov Grumet-Morris ranks third in the AHL with a 2.09 goals against average.

The Hamilton Bulldogs and Marlies meet for the seventh time this season on Saturday at 3pm. The Bulldogs hold a 4-2-0-0 advantage over the Marlies. Aaron Palushaj leads all Bulldogs with 28 points (13goals, 15 assists).

Alec Brownscombe is the founder of MapleLeafsHotStove.com, where he has written daily about the Leafs since September of 2008. He was also the editor of the 2009-13 Maple Leafs Annual magazines. You can contact him at [email protected]